quiebrevsquierenTell them apart

Which to use

“quiebre” and “quieren” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#21,810
“quiebre” frequency rank
#459
“quieren” frequency rank
22269
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quiebre quieren
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de quebrar o de quebrarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de querer.

Where the eye mixes quiebre and quieren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. quiebre (CVVVCCV) and quieren (CVVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
quiebre
7 ch
quieren

Why the eye confuses quiebre with quieren

A purely visual mix-up. quiebre ([ˈkjeβ̞ɾe]) and quieren ([ˈkjeɾẽn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22269, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quiebre is recorded at frequency rank #21,810, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkjeβ̞ɾe]. quieren is at rank #459, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkjeɾẽn].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 22269, this pair ranks #251,112 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quiebre vs quieren

Shared letters: eiqru. Private to "quiebre": b. Private to "quieren": n.

"quiebre" · 7 letters · shape CVVVCCV  ·  "quieren" · 7 letters · shape CVVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quiebre ← qiuebre · qquiebre · queibre · quibere · quiebbre · quieber · quiebrre · quierbe
  • quieren ← qiueren · qquieren · queiren · quieern · quierenn · quierne · quierren · quireen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quiebre" and "quieren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkjeβ̞ɾe] versus [ˈkjeɾẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "quiebre" vs "quieren" - which ranks higher?
"quieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #459 in our Spanish list, against #21,810 for "quiebre". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "quiebre" and "quieren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "quiebre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quieren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #251,112 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quiebre" and "quieren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quiebras vs quiebre". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #251,112 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list